"In Our Own Words": excerpts from the hostel comment book

Since I started traveling, I found out what freedom means.
People, luxury, job, car, etc so many things like to make you
depending on them!
But...................
we have the right from birth to feel and be free on this
wonderful Mother' earth!      

   I think it comes down to a simple compassion.
And I first learn to love myself, then I find
that there are all varieties of people and life
that I can respect. 

Karin and I arrived here around 2pm to a very comfortable greeting.
We have pedaled from Albuquerque to here via Bryce Canyon andYosemite, through California's Redwood forest, along Oregon's rocky coast
to the wild and pristine ocean landscapes of Washington. We have enjoyed 
ourselves immensely; however, nowhere have we met friendlier people
than here in Washington on our journey. Three months out and three to go
and I know that it will be great or greater. 

For me coming out here was a two year dream
and, not only has it been an incredibly beautiful area,
but it has helped me to get back in touch with a deeper truth
-truly a mystical and religious experience. Most of the time 
I've been walking around, mouth open, fully absorbed in the Olympic Park 
and Forest. We need to be reminded how much life is around us ......................
So don't forget!

Hello, I am a Korean from Boston.
I do not know what to say.
I do not think so much to write them down.
They are all in my heart..
Well, I had a great day and about to 
go back to Seattle and travel...
Meeting people is a fun...

I heard the silence; felt it, like something Solid,
face to face........ and I knew that I had left 
behind the man constructed world. Had already escaped
from a world in which the days are consumed by clocks
and dollars and traffic and other people. Had crossed 
over into a world that was governed by the sun and the
wind, and the lie of the land. A world in which the things
that mattered were the pack on your back and sunlight
on rough rock and the look of the way ahead. A world in 
which you relied, always, on yourself..... and in that quiet place
I felt that I had moved inside the silence.

found in Hut Book
Supper Cove Hut, Dusky Sound 
Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

When I quit my professional career a year ago, I had no idea what I was going to do or even wanted to do .I just knew that something had to change. Now, after driving around the States for a year, I feel freer(is that a word?) than I have in years. I've decided that the only thing that really matters in life is who you spend your time with- starting with yourself. In the hostels people can accept that I'm traveling with myself and that has helped me work through allot of those inhibitions I picked up through the years. By wandering around alone, I am free to meet and get to know the incredible people I cross paths with, and then go on in my own company. I'm so addicted to traveling that I'm not sure that I can go live in one place again! 
Thanks to the Rain Forest Hostel and all the others for the accepting and supportive environment where we can all be ourselves. 

Two sisters staying here for the night- it was our last attempt at finding 
shelter befor we just parked the Nova and crawled in the back seat together!
Glad we found this place. She is visiting from Minneapolis and I live in Edmonds
near Seattle. Moved out here from MN in August immediately after graduating
high school and in the past 4 months have learned one very important lesson-
In life a person can succeed or fail at whatever he does. A least if he is out
here he can upon failure lift his face from out of the dirt and look up at all
this! If he fails in Minnesota he will be lower than a snake's belt and will not
have the mountains, ocean and forest for comfort and inspiration.
Thank you Jim for building a new memory for us!

I am the sister from the last page. We spent all of yesterday trying to reach
the ocean; but, by the time we got here it was dark. So we stumbled on this home
and almost passed it by. Instead we pulled in tired and somewhat skeptical.
We were welcomed and found good conversation and sound sleep. Now we are 
headed to Ruby Beach cuz Ruby is my stone. Lots of waterfalls and mountains,
much better than Minnesota. Well, time to clean up and head out.
Thanks Jim, Kona, Shorty and Smokey for the advice and fun!

It rained and rained and rained
The average fall was well maintained
And when the tracks were simple bogs
It started raining cats and dogs
After a drought of half an hour
We had a most refreshing shower
And then the most curious thing of all
A gentle rain began to fall
Next day but one was fairly dry
Save for one deluge from the sky
Which wetted the party to the skin
And then at last- the rain set in

We had a blast coming over to the hostel on Wednesday. We saw new faces
and Jim. They all were nice to us. When we walked thru the door I wasn't
sure about this, but after a day, I felt like I was at home. I loved Kona,
Smoky and Shorty; they all are nice.
We went to the national park. We walked through the Hall of Mosses. It 
was a real experience. I loved it. It rained on us. Then it came down HARD.
We caught raindrops on our tongues. It tasted good. Then we went to the 
beach to watch the sunset. It was nice. The colors were great: orange, pink
and yellow. Anyway I had a great time and I hope you do too!  

An Irishman's Thought!
Rain Forest's Feel

Stranger you are welcome here
Be at your ease
Get up when you're ready
And eat when you please
Happy to share with you
Such as we got
The leaks in the roof
And the soup's in the pot
You don't have to thank us
Or laugh at our jokes
Sit deep and come often
You're one of the folks

At the Rain Forest Hostel:
Strangers are treated as friends 
Friends are treated as family.
It's the best little hostel between the two Angeles (Port and Los)

Where did everyone go during August and September? I've driven 5,000
miles from Destin, Florida over a month ago. Nothing exotic or epic, but it's 
been my own little adventure. Twelve states and Canada. Have I gained any 
powerful insights or grown beyond my years in wisdom? Who knows!? Road 
weary and feeling like going home.......but I'm as far away from it as I could
be and still be in the US. What would I do when I arrived anyhow? That 
which made me leave is still there. Lone travelers often find direction and
inner peace. I found loneliness. It takes a strong individual to embark on a 
Thoreau-esque journey and survive. Hostels have been my salvation: people, 
conversation, advice. Where to go from here? Guess I'll have to listen to the
voice that so many others seem to hear so clearly.                                                         travel lightly!

"Come on over, we got chicken in the barn"
Jerry Lee Lewis

"Why the candles?" she asked
"For the same reason I like the sound of the rain" he replied
Dermot Healy, Goat's Song

I think everyone has to go out there and experience what they can. I'm alone
out here and having the time of my life! I've met so many amazing people- it
has really opened me up to many things. I'll never be the same. It is so important
to live in uncertainty and not know where you will be in the next day or so.
Live life!
"every man dies, few men truly live", from the movie, Braveheart

i had a dream the other night that gretchen and i
 were on a beach in Cuba. i remember the sand was
like sugar, very fine and white. i woke up and was in
a small town in western washington. the trees look so pretty
with moss covering and the rain. this week i turn 26
and am beginning to realize that i wont live forever.

I left searching for a future but have learned to love the moments in between: the journey the waves breaking, and the moss catching the light. Everyone is looking for the next thing - blind to one another. We are not alone. We are loved, and we have only to open ourselves to the wonder of being alive. It was a joy to experience the forest and to meet the people here. I am excited for all that comes next and to be a part of all this (the whole adventure). 

Thank you Jim!